State v. Lingrel

692 S.W.2d 41, 1985 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 3067
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedMarch 26, 1985
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 692 S.W.2d 41 (State v. Lingrel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Lingrel, 692 S.W.2d 41, 1985 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 3067 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

DUNCAN, Judge.

The defendant, James Robert Lingrel, was convicted of aggravated rape and received a penitentiary sentence of twenty-five (25). years.

In this appeal, the defendant contests the evidence, and also contends that the trial court erred in allowing certain evidence to be admitted. We find no reversible error.

The State’s evidence showed that in June, 1980, the defendant’s wife, Virginia Lingrel, was operating a day care center in their home. The victim, being a four year old girl at that time, attended the nursery school. The victim was eight years old at the time of this trial.

According to the young victim’s testimony, the defendant would lick her vagina [43]*43with his tongue and would stick his finger into her vagina. She indicated that when his finger went into her, it went in up to the first joint of his finger. At one point in her testimony, she testified that the defendant stuck “his penis in my bottom.” She said he would do these things every day. She testified that these incidents took place in the basement at the nursery school, and that the defendant would set her on a box containing worms. She stated that she told her mother about these incidents. The defendant had told her not to tell her mother or anyone else. The victim said she was afraid of the defendant. She told her mother because she wanted the defendant to stop. She said that the last time that the defendant abused her occurred the day before she told her mother.

The victim’s mother testified and said that her daughter attended Mrs. Lingrel’s day care center off and on from October, 1979 through June, 1980. She stated that on June 17, 1980, her daughter told her that the defendant “stuck his finger down there” and “put his tongue down there,” the daughter indicating “between her legs” in her vagina area. The mother had her daughter examined and discussed the matter with law enforcement authorities. The mother testified that over a period of time she tried to talk to the authorities in an effort to get something done about the matter but was unsuccessful. In 1983, at the suggestion of her husband, she contacted Detective Andy Lockhart and related to him the facts and circumstances that had previously occurred.

Other evidence showed that after Detective Lockhart was informed about the matter, he had the defendant come to the police station. At that time, the defendant gave Detective Lockhart the following statement:

This is a statement given by James Robert Lingrel to Andy Lockhart at the Bradley County Justice Center on November 30, 1983, at 4:40 p.m. In the summer of 1980 my wife ran a day care center on 20th Street, N.W. I was there one evening with a little girl named (name omitted by the Court) who was about four or five years old at the time. We were down in the basement by ourselves at that time. I kissed the little girl and she took her panties off and laid down. I stuck my head between her legs and licked her vagina. This is the only incident that occurred between me and the little girl. This statement is true to the best of my knowledge and no threats or promises have been made or given to me to make this statement. Signed James R. Lingrel.

Dr. John Appling, a physician in Bradley County, testified that when he examined the victim in June, 1980, she related that the defendant “had performed oral sex [on her] or had licked her on her bottom and that he also used his finger on her bottom.” Dr. Appling didn’t “believe there was any evidence of penetration at the time,” but that the act of cunnilingus would not leave evidence of penetration. Also, it was Dr. Appling’s opinion that the insertion of a portion of one’s finger to the length of the first joint would not necessarily leave evidence of penetration.

The defendant testified and denied that he ever sexually molested the victim. He said he never touched her, and that the statement attributed to him was incorrect. He explained that he signed the statement because “Andy Lockhart handed me a bunch of papers and told me to sign them.” He stated that he was not good at reading and did not read the statement before signing it. He said he could have said the words in the statement, but did not recall doing so. Further, he testified that when the detective told him about the charges, he “was just put in a daze and all and I wasn’t realizing what I was saying or nothing.” He admitted that Detective Lockhart read the statement to him before he signed it, and that he just signed it without realizing what he was doing. He admitted that a box of fishing worms was kept in the basement, but denied that he ever took the victim to the basement, stating that she knew of the worms because his son talked about them all the time.

[44]*44The defendant’s wife, Virginia Lingrel, testified the victim was left in her care on five (5) occasions in June, 1980. She did not remember anytime that the child was out of her presence on those occasions. She said she went to the police station with her husband when he was questioned, and that when he came out of the interrogation room, he was “very upset” and was “just stunned.” She said her husband had reading problems.

Two (2) other employees of the day care center testified. One stated that the defendant did not participate in caring for the children. The other said he would assist with the children after he came in from work. One witness did not remember the victim being there, but the other one did and said Mrs. Lingrel always knew where the children were, and that the children did not appear to be afraid of the defendant.

In deciding whether the evidence in a given case is sufficient to support a defendant’s conviction, we must consider the evidence in the light of several settled principles of law, to-wit:

A guilty verdict by the jury, approved by the trial judge, accredits the testimony of the State’s witnesses and resolves all conflicts in favor of the State’s theory. State v. Hatchett, 560 S.W.2d 627 (Tenn.1978). On appeal, the State is entitled to the strongest legitimate view of the evidence and all reasonable or legitimate inferences which may be drawn therefrom. State v. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d 832 (Tenn.1978). A verdict against the defendant removes the presumption of innocence and raises a presumption of guilt upon appeal. State v. Grace, 493 S.W.2d 474 (Tenn.1973). Findings of guilt in criminal actions will not be set aside unless the evidence is insufficient to support the finding by the trier of fact of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. T.R.A.P. 13(e); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

The jury accredited the testimony of the State’s witnesses. The testimony of the young victim, her mother, and Dr. Ap-pling, along with the defendant’s implicating statement, is more than sufficient to support the jury’s verdict. The proof clearly satisfies the evidentiary tests as outlined in T.R.A.P. 13(e) and Jackson v. Virginia, supra. We find no merit to the defendant’s evidentiary complaint.

Next, the defendant contends the trial court erred in allowing his statement to be admitted into evidence, arguing that the evidence did not show that he made a knowing and voluntary waiver of his rights.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
692 S.W.2d 41, 1985 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 3067, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lingrel-tenncrimapp-1985.